Netflix is exploiting for profit a situation that will undoubtedly result in increased abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Aiding and abetting this deplorable situation is Maïmouna Doucouré, the Senegalese woman who directed and produced the French film “Mignonnes” that Netflix renamed as “Cuties.”
In a shameless display of misrepresentation, Doucouré describes the film as her effort to bring awareness to the hypersexualization of children. Well, it sure succeeds in doing that, but not for noble purposes.
What could possibly go wrong when a filmmaker chooses to hire underage girls to engage in sexually explicit dancing to illustrate the dangers of sexualizing children? Everything. Netflix’s apology for changing the name of the film and using a poster guaranteed to titillate and stimulate pedophiles and other sexual deviants rings hollow.
In case you didn’t know it, we live in a society where children are being sold and bought as commodities for the benefit of adults.
Netflix’s reaction to negative publicity and becoming the target of mostly Republican congressmen and a trending hashtag #CancelNetflix isn’t to remove the controversial film, but to encourage more people to go out and see it for themselves.
The company released a statement defending the film while snubbing the deserved complaints of the film’s critics.
“‘Cuties’ is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. It’s an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up—and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie.”
What Netflix is doing here is no better than if a major TV network were to air an X-rated film and then defend it as a morality tale with virtuous qualities. This is worse than creepy; it’s sick and demented.
Variety points out that Netflix changed the description of the film from the one that accompanied its salacious poster. Notice how the change waters down the description in yet another display of blatant distortion.
“Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.” Previously, the description read, “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions.”
Netflix executives are perhaps correctly betting that the public’s outrage will be short-lived and the profits brought in by “Cuties” and the next film to follow sexualizing children will more than make up for its financial losses.
Increasingly Desensitized
What they can count on is a public that seems increasingly desensitized to the exploitation of children. Note: An Aug. 27 statement from the U.S. Marshals Service reported the discovery and rescue of 39 missing children as part of its Operation Not Forgotten; those rescued included 26 that had been sexually trafficked—a full two-thirds of the total.
The sexualization of American children is nothing new. In 2016, Steve Feazel and I published the book “Abduction: How Liberalism Steals Our Children’s Hearts and Minds.” In our chapter titled “Sexy Kids,” we alerted readers to the aggressive agenda in public and private schools to use sex-education materials and requirements to teach children as young as 5 about concepts such as vaginal intercourse, homosexuality, and masturbation.
This junk isn’t just “out there,” it’s now being shoved into our and our childrens’ faces.
Hasbro, a well-known toy manufacturer, was recently forced to remove a troll doll that had a giggle button between her legs. The toy was widely viewed as grooming children for being receptive to pedophiles.
If that isn’t enough to make you wonder what is happening when it comes to the protection of our children, you need only look at California’s laws regarding the decriminalization of child prostitution, and the exemption of some pedophiles from mandatory registration with the state if they engage in sexual behavior with consenting children. Both California laws benefit the adults who exploit children and the film industry that was laid bare by the #MeToo movement.
The controversy over Netflix’s decision to purchase and amplify the film’s content by changing the name to “Cuties” from “Mignonnes” and the poster to salacious from fairly innocuous comes at a time when Hollywood and filmmaking in general is being exposed for its exploitation of children.
In July, former child star Alex Winter’s HBO film “Showbiz Kids” was released. It features stories of child stars who were raped and molested by an industry that devalues children in much the same manner that our society devalues the unborn.
What can we do to make a difference? We can certainly choose to cancel our Netflix subscriptions and make Netflix feel the monetary sting.
Perhaps a better and more effective response would be to cancel the subscription and take a look at what is happening with our public school curricula and the propaganda that progressive teachers are feeding our children on a daily basis.
I wager that the daily harm from a hypersexualized, agenda-driven, sex-education curriculum is far worse than the “Cuties” film, even though our silence about such a film is sure to make way for the next even-more-graphic film to follow.
We have our work cut out for us. America has lost its innocence and sacrificed its children. What will you do to reclaim the values and principles that once held sway in this nation?
